


You’re Ripped at Every Edge but You’re a Masterpiece

by jonnyhustle



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dom/sub Undertones, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:27:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonnyhustle/pseuds/jonnyhustle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Gansey comes back to Monmouth while Ronan’s waiting for his hair to dry. He takes one look and sighs, like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he has been Ronan’s keeper for the better part since they met so maybe he does. </i>
</p>
<p>  <i>It’s a sound Ronan’s become accustomed to, and he doesn’t begrudge Gansey. </i></p>
<p>  <i>“I’m not done yet,” Ronan says, gesturing to the hair dye laid out beside him.</i></p>
<p>  <i>Gansey closes his eyes, looks like he’s questioning all of his life choices that led him here to this moment, “You never are.”</i><br/>***</p>
<p><b>Alternatively,</b> the AU where Ronan grows his hair out (so Adam has something to pull) but Declan misunderstands this as maturity. That simply won't do, obviously, so Ronan dyes his hair the colour of Adam's eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You’re Ripped at Every Edge but You’re a Masterpiece

**Author's Note:**

> [Inspired by prsphn's headcanons.](http://prsphn.tumblr.com/post/134332579943/okay-so-this-might-be-very-unnecessary-but-what)
> 
> Title has been taken from Halsey's [Colors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNt28Tx-cw0) because _everything is blue_. 
> 
> My Tumblr can be found [here](http://officialmaxdomi.tumblr.com). I have a lot more things to say about Ronan dying his hair but let's start here.

Ronan Lynch has grown used to garnering reactions. Wasn’t that what shaped his adolescence? If people judged, let them judge for the way he looked on the outside, not how he felt about himself, not his sexuality or the boy he liked kissing or the magic that sometimes felt like a curse that ran through his veins. 

So, Ronan was used to being looked at in a particular way. 

He knew his reputation preceded him.

He was thrown, then, when the expressions of those he passed on the street softened as his buzzcut grew out. 

Mothers no longer pulled their children closer as he stomped down the street. 

He was no longer kept under the watchful gaze of employees when he ventured to the store.

Ronan didn’t get it, because his hair didn’t change how he felt on the inside. He was only growing it out because he was curious of the way Adam reacted whenever Ronan would wrap his fingers through Adam’s hair and tug, dragging him to his knees. 

He wanted to know what it felt like, what it would be like to have Adam pulling on his hair, directing his head, effectively choking him.

None of that meant that he was suddenly changing in other ways. He buzzed his hair out of convenience at first, and then continued doing so because of how it looked. Now he was growing it out because a buzzcut no longer suited his needs. 

Not that he particularly cared what Declan thought, but Adam would’ve killed him in his sleep if he admitted to the reason when Declan commended his new hairstyle.

At first, it was Declan’s approval that egged him on, because Ronan never could just walk away and let Declan feel content. 

Ronan didn’t need that. Everyone knew, the one thing Ronan cared least for was his brother’s opinion, and maybe that was why Declan had said it too. 

The Lynch brothers could not exist in a world where there was nothing to bicker over. 

Ronan’s adventures in the BMW had slowed, because he’d decided that he preferred going down on his boyfriend more than the fights that ensued after racing. Trust Adam to believe that sex wasn’t a reasonable method of conflict resolution.

His relationship with Adam wasn’t something he wanted to just throw in his brother’s face either. At first it’d been a secret, from himself and from everyone else, that he was gay. Now, it wasn’t so much a secret for him but it still was for Adam. Gansey and Blue knew, Noah too, because it was a hard secret to keep when they practically all lived in each other’s pockets. 

In comparison to being a greywaren, it’d hardly been a secret at all though. 

With no races for Declan to know about, and the time Ronan would have used to get involved with other shenanigans being taken up by Adam, Ronan was at a loss on how to get that reaction.

He wanted to do something to his hair, but he couldn’t just buzz it off again. That would be too obvious and juvenile, like Ronan admitting that his main motivation was his brother’s opinion. 

No, that would not do. 

He does it on a Saturday night, briefly engaging in dubious activities on his way to the drugstore. He doesn’t get caught, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Adam was getting a feeling of disappointment and didn’t know why. 

He buys the bleach first, briefly talking to the girl behind the counter about his options. He’s blushing from embarrassment, he knows, but he doesn’t want to make his hair fall out. 

Now that his hair is long enough for Adam to actually hold onto, Ronan is confident in his decision-making skills. Growing his hair out was a fantastic idea. This is only going to have the added benefit of tearing down Declan’s newfound sense of pride in his younger brother. 

Really, he’s just restoring things to their natural state of being. 

He leaves the store with 40 volume peroxide and a strict set of instructions that he’s been repeating to himself ever since they were issued. He picked up some dye too, after being warned that his hair would go orange with bleach rather than a nice blonde.

He couldn’t settle on just one, so he bought a few, is considering dying his hair with all of them for Pride if he can manage to not fuck it up this first time. 

Monmouth is empty when he gets there. He lets himself in and dumps his things in the bedroom before pulling on a pair of gloves that he bought for the occasion. 

It stings his eyes as he mixes the developer and applies it to his hair. It’s a thick paste, and it’s a struggle to cover his hair evenly at the back but he thinks he does an okay job. It’d really only add to the look if it was fucked up, different shades of blue, looking the way Adam’s eyes do when they reflect the sun. 

His hair is an inch-long, an awful copper colour when he rinses out the bleach with his head under the sink. His scalp stings, but it’s a manageable pain, not enough to deter him from continuing on with the plan. A little pain is certainly the preferred option to having to face Adam, trying to initiate anything with Adam, while looking like a Weasley. 

Gansey comes back to Monmouth while Ronan’s waiting for his hair to dry. He takes one look and sighs, like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he has been Ronan’s keeper for the better part since they met so maybe he does. 

It’s a sound Ronan’s become accustomed to, and he doesn’t begrudge Gansey. 

“I’m not done yet,” Ronan says, gesturing to the hair dye laid out beside him.

Gansey closes his eyes, looks like he’s questioning all of his life choices that led him here to this moment, “You never are.”

Ronan shrugs, “I can do yours next if you’d like.” 

Gansey doesn’t bother to answer, just turns away and leaves like the conversation never happened. 

Ronan’s grown used to that too.

***

Ronan decides not to give him a warning beforehand, not to give anything away, when he goes to pick up Adam from work. 

He’s happy with the colour. Electric blue. It’s bright and confident, a direct contradiction to everything Ronan Lynch, but at the least it will brighten up his wardrobe some. 

Adam looks as if he’s already falling into a doze when he walks out of the diner he picked a job up at, shuffles his feet until he’s at Ronan’s car and then opening the door and shuffling some more. 

Ronan doesn’t say anything, has to turn away from Adam to hide his smirk when there’s no immediate question or acknowledgement. 

He starts the car and pulls out, foot heavy on the accelerator as he drives in the direction of St. Agnes. 

Adam’s quiet on the drive home, and Ronan would be worried if he wasn’t used to this. Adam grows quiet when he’s tired, but he’s more prone to anger as well, like he’s too physically exhausted to pretend to be anything else than who he is. Ronan likes these moments, even if they’re the ones that tend to precede a fight, because, yes, Adam verbally lashes out but he apologises afterward. 

And Ronan will never hold it against him, because he knows what it’s like to finally let everything go, and it’s proof too. 

Isn’t it? 

Adam’s not like his father at all.

Adam’s father didn’t ever apologise, Ronan argues, when Adam is defeated and afraid. 

On those nights, Adam sees himself a hypocrite and apologises to Ronan the only way he knows how. 

Vulnerable, arching into his boyfriend’s touches, Ronan thinks it means more than any string of words ever could. 

But, that doesn’t happen, not tonight. Maybe it was about to, because Adam’s frowning and turning his head toward Ronan just as they’re pulling up at the church, when he does a double-take and asks, “What did you do to your hair?” 

“Nothing,” Ronan answers, stopping the car. 

“It’s blue,” Adam answers, undoing his belt before reaching out to run his fingers through it, “really blue. That’s not nothing.”

Ronan can’t help but lean into the touch, letting his eyes close as Adam tugs. 

“Let’s go inside,” Adam suggests when it’s clear that Ronan’s in no hurry. 

“Let’s stay here,” Ronan counters, flailing a hand out to palm at his boyfriend’s crotch, “unless you’ve got big plans.”

Adam rolls his eyes, finally letting go of his boyfriend, “Come on.” 

It’s unfortunate, but Adam’s too tired to do things like wrap Ronan’s hair around his fingers and pull, even when Ronan promises that he’ll do all the work. Instead, they lay on their sides on Adam’s single mattress, facing one another, and trading slow kisses until Adam’s too tired to do much more than purse his lips and breathe into Ronan’s mouth. 

Ronan shuffles them around, so his back is pressed against Adam’s chest, effectively becoming the little spoon. 

Adam opens his mouth to say something, just like he does every time Ronan stays over and gives up the honour of being the big spoon, which is to say every time he stays over, but Ronan grinds his hips back on the pretence of getting comfortable and Adam gets distracted. 

It’s quiet and comfortable, an oasis away from the shit that they technically bring on themselves, when Adam says, “Will you do mine?” 

Ronan grunts, eyes slipping shut when Adam cards his fingers through Ronan’s hair.

“My hair?”

“If you want,” Ronan promises.

And maybe it’s intentional, or maybe Adam’s falling asleep as he speaks, because what Ronan hears sure sounds a lot like, “I want you.”


End file.
